It’s been four years since Baroness, eternal masters of sludge-soaked hard rock, released their last album, the excellent Gold & Grey. Later this summer, they’ll follow that album with a new self-produced LP called Stone. For this one, Baroness got away from everything for a month, living and recording in a rented vacation house in Barryville, New York.

Even though their lineup has shifted over the years, Baroness have always sounded like a cohesive, locked-in whole. I definitely get that sense from “Last Word,” the first single from Stone. Frontman John Baizley says that they wanted to strip things down, making them simple and more direct. On the one hand, “Last Word” is a sprawling six-and-a-half-minute song with wailed-out vocal hooks and complicated guitar parts, so it’s not that simple. On the other, “Last Word” rocks on a primal and instinctive level, so it sounds like Baizley got what he wanted. Here’s what he says about it:

An important through line in Baroness is we don’t like to repeat ourselves. It’s all about the willingness to take risks. When I was younger, the whole point of music was to be different, not to do the same thing, and not to listen to parents or play by the rules. That’s kind of goofy, but in practice, it works. It’s really sort of terrifying to be at the sixth record in your career and think that you’ll have to keep up with your history rather than continually invent. So, we doubled down on continuously inventing to see where it takes us. I think this record is a good reflection of that. Stone is a lot more alive, more direct.

Baroness will celebrate the album’s release with a massive North American tour, where they’ll play with esteemed heavy-music peers like Jesus Piece, Soul Glo, Chat Pile, and Portrayal Of Guilt. Check out the Nick Jost-directed “Last Word” video, the Stone tracklist, and the tour dates below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Embers”
02 “Last Word”
03 “Beneath The Rose”
04 “Choir”
05 “The Dirge”
06 “Anodyne”
07 “Shine”
08 “Magnolia”
09 “Under The Wheel”
10 “Bloom”

TOUR DATES:
10/13 – Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Sound Stage (with Jesus Piece & Escuela Grind)
10/14 – Richmond, VA @ Canal Club (with Jesus Piece & Escuela Grind)
10/15 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel (with Jesus Piece & Escuela Grind)
10/17 – Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Ybor (with Jesus Piece & Escuela Grind)
10/18 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (with Jesus Piece & Escuela Grind)
10/20 – Dallas, TX @ The Echo Lounge & Music Hall (with Portrayal Of Guilt & Escuela Grind)
10/21 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues (with Portrayal Of Guilt & Escuela Grind)
10/22 – Austin, TX @ Empire Control Room & Garage (with Portrayal Of Guilt & Escuela Grind)
10/24 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater (with Primitive Man & Midwife)
10/25 – Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theater (with Primitive Man & Midwife)
10/27 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory (with Primitive Man, Midwife, & Agriculture)
10/28 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether (with Primitive Man, Midwife, & Agriculture)
10/29 – Berkeley, CA @ UC Theater Taube Family Music Hall (with Primitive Man, Midwife, & Agriculture)
10/31 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre (with KEN Mode & Hoaxed)
11/03 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile (with KEN Mode & Empire State Bastard)
11/04 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre (with KEN Mode & Empire State Bastard)
11/06 – Edmonton, AB @ Union Hall (with KEN Mode & Empire State Bastard)
11/07 – Calgary, AB @ The Palace Theater (with KEN Mode & Empire State Bastard)
11/09 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot (with Wayfarer & Empire State Bastard)
11/11 – Denver, CO @ Summit (with Wayfarer & Empire State Bastard)
11/12 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room Lounge (with Wayfarer & Empire State Bastard)
11/14 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue (with Chat Pile & Empire State Bastard)
11/15 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre (with Chat Pile & Empire State Bastard)
11/17 – Columbus, OH @ The King of Club (with Vile Creature)
11/18 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall (with Vile Creature & Cloud Rat)
11/19 – Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall (with Vile Creature)
11/20 – Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Beanfield (with Vile Creature)
11/22 – Albany, NY @ Empire Live (with Soul Glo)
11/24 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theater & Ballroom (with Soul Glo & Cloud Rat)
11/25 – Pittsburgh, PA – Roxian Theatre (with Soul Glo)
11/26 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom (with Soul Glo)
11/28 – Boston, MA @ Royale (with Sheer Mag & Imperial Triumphant)
11/29 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall (with Sheer Mag & Imperial Triumphant)
12/01 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer (with Sheer Mag & Uniform)

Stone is out 9/15 on Abraxan Hymns. Pre-order it here.